Screening of 'Fowl Play'

This past Thursday, Veg Club showed Fowl Play, a short documentary about the egg industry. The film was well-received and showed a lot of footage straight out of our very own Ohio. The movie's summary by Mercy for Animals is worth a read: "Fowl Play takes viewers on an unforgettable journey behind the closed doors of some of the country's largest industrial farms. Propelled by touching interviews with animal rescuers, undercover investigators, veterinarians and animal behaviorists, Fowl Play brings us the inspiring stories of the kind and courageous people fighting to save the modern day hen--perhaps the most abused and exploited animal on earth. An eye-opening exploration of factory farming, Fowl Play leaves viewers with a powerful message of personal responsibility and the potential each of us holds to change the world--one meal at a time."

Autumn Stew

This autumn-inspired dish was prepared by one of our members for our vegan potluck on Sunday.

Ingredients
For the stew:
1 cup onions/bell peppers (frozen mixed bag)
1 cup celery, chopped
5 large carrots
2 large red potatoes
1 butternut squash
1 zucchini
1 apple, peeled
1 cup lentils
3 vegan 'chicken' stock cubes
Oil (olive or vegetable)
Spices to taste (salt, garlic salt, paprika, several tablespoons cumin & cinnamon)
Optional accents served on the side:
2 large avocados, cubed
1 bunch kale, chopped finely
1/4 cup brown sugar

Instructions
1. In a large pot, put 8 cups of water and the stock cubes on high heat (boiling). Prepare ingredients, cutting them into chunks.
2. Stir-fry vegetables in a pan with oil over medium-high heat to brown them a bit and then add them to the pot. This will take several batches. Do it in the following order: onions/peppers/celery, lentils, carrots, potatoes, squash, zucchini/apple.
3. Add spices, taste and test the stew, and potentially add more water if needed along the way. Lower the temperature a bit and allow the stew to cook until you feel it has reached perfection!
4. On the side, offer guests (or whoever's eating this) avocado, kale, and brown sugar as potential (and super yummy) additions to the soup. Enjoy!

Apple Yam Yums

This was one of the sweet dishes prepared by one of our members for our vegan potluck on Sunday! It is traditionally called Apple Mallow Yam Yums but we could not find vegan marshmallows in time for the potluck so a homemade frosting was drizzled on top instead. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 apples, sliced (we used honeycrisp)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 17oz cans yams, drained
1/4 cup vegan butter
about 1 cup powdered sugar
about 3 tbs water or vegan milk

Instructions
1. Toss apples, pecan, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. In a casserole dish, alternate layers of this apple mixture and the yams. Dot with butter.
2. Cover and bake at 350F for 35-40 minutes.
3. Prepare a simple frosting by putting powdered sugar in a bowl and adding very small amounts of liquid (water or vegan milk) at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Drizzle this on top of the dish when finished baking.

Rock Painting, Tornado Potluck, Adopt-A-Turkey Bake Sale

On November 12th, Veg Club painted the Rock at BG. It was so freezing and we didn't really have enough paint, but it was a fun experience and we got to write cool veg things! 

On November 17th, Veg Club gathered together for a vegan potluck at the Common Good... at the same exact time a tornado warning was issued. Some of us braved the weather anyway, enjoying each other's company and stuffing our bellies until we couldn't take another bite. Everyone brought delicious food! We had autumn-inspired stew and soup, bread rolls with vegan butter, hummus with chips and pretzels, chocolate pumpkin pie, apple yam yums, and Green Goodness to drink. Stay tuned for recipes!


The week of November 18th, Veg Club and SAVE (Saving Animals from Violence and Exploitation) each held vegan bake sales on campus with the goal of saving turkeys. We combined the funds we raised and donations from members for a total of $90, enough to sponsor three turkeys to live their lives out in peace on a farm sanctuary! Great job and thank you to everyone who helped out and showed their support for our turkey friends!

Meeting Notes for Nov. 5

At last night's meeting, we tie-dyed our adorable new Veg Club shirts; we can't wait to see how they turned out and rock them everywhere we go! We also discussed upcoming events:

• Nov. 7th @ 8:00pm in the Business Administration building 1002, SAVE will be showing the film Happy Feet.
• Nov. 12th @ 7:30pm we will meet at the rock in place of a regular meeting. We chose the colors green, pink and blue to paint with!
• Nov. 13th @ 5:30pm at the Oaks a guest chef will be giving a vegan cooking demonstration in honor of National Vegan Month. All are encouraged to attend!
• Nov. 17th @ 5:30pm we are having a vegan potluck at the Common Good, so bring vegan food! We will be meeting at Starbucks @ 5:15pm for those who want to walk there together.
• Nov. 19th @ 7:30pm we will meet at Starbucks to walk to the Common Good for a bake night in place of a regular meeting. On Nov. 20th, we will have a vegan bake sale 11am-3pm.
• Dec. 5th @ 8:00pm we plan to show the short documentary Fowl Play; details to come.

There will be no meeting on Nov. 26th, so the next regular meeting that we will have in our usual room in Olscamp will be Dec. 3rd. Most likely we will hold officer elections that day (though this was not discussed at the meeting) so that the new terms can begin in January. This semester is really flying by and we are certainly keeping busy with lots of fun stuff!! :)

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie w/ Oreo Pretzel Crust

The name pretty much says it all... A DELICIOUS creation by one of our members. Seriously, YUM.

Ingredients
For the crust:
2 cups Oreo crumbs (about 16 Oreos)
2 cups pretzel crumbs
1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

For the filling:
1 8oz container vegan cream cheese
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup vegan vanilla ice cream
2 tbs vanilla extract

For the topping:
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted
Also try pretzel and Oreo crumbs

Instructions
1. Find a method of crushing Oreos and pretzels. If you have a food processor, great! We used a hammer and some creativity...
2. Mix Oreo crumbs, pretzel crumbs and melted butter and press into a pan (we used an 8x8 square pan). Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Then refrigerate.
3. Mix cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and ice cream. Fill the cooled crust with this mixture.
4. Decorate the pie either before or after freezing, drizzling melted chocolate, sprinkling Oreo and pretzel crumbs on top... go wild!
5. Place pie (covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil) in freezer for at least 2 hours. Keep (and store) in freezer. Serve with vegan ice cream!

Happy Badger, Epic Bake Sale, Amazing SASHA Trip

On October 3rd, Veg Club met for lunch at the Happy Badger in BG for delicious, veg-friendly food! The atmosphere of the Happy Badger is really unique; glass jars are used for drinks, and there are all sorts of little knick-knacks and interesting decorations (including a functional record-player/juke box). We found a stuffed badger too and we just had to take a picture! After lunch, we ended up roaming around downtown and shopping (a little too impulsively and excitedly...) at Ben Franklin's. It was a really fun afternoon. :)

On October 17th, Veg Club baked together at the Common Good in preparation for today's bake sale. It got a little messy and chaotic, and we had a couple baking mishaps but this just made it more fun! We made so much food: brownies, no bake cookies, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookie sandwiches, puppy chow, Oreo cupcakes, and cookie dough pretzel bites/sandwiches (an invention by one of our members). The recipes we used (although we halved many of them) can be found here. On October 18th at the bake sale, we actually sold out of all of our items and ended early! Based on our tallies, we made $62! Great job and thank you to everyone who helped out and to everyone who stopped by to taste just how delicious vegan food is! :)
  
(Guest written:) After waking up on an early Sunday morning (October 20th) and trugging along the road for two hours, the Veg Club made it to it's destination to SASHA in Jackson, Michigan. After arriving, and signing a liability waver of course, our crew went to the pastures. Here we were left with the task of cleaning up after the horses, which we didn't mind! But the day could of turned for the worst when one the donkeys pushed it way past us and out of the pasture. Luckily, due to two great members, the donkey was retrieved and put back into the pasture. Thank goodness! So, we continued with our work. After about two hours, and making the pasture more green than brown (LOL), we decided it was time for a break. First came pictures that I (Ciara) had the honor of taking and it went really well. We had alot of fun and decided we wanted to take a tour of the farm before eating our lunch. This resulted in seeing our the animals that the farm had taken in to take care of, from goats, horses, mules, donkeys, cats, sheep, dogs, chickens, emus, birds, and cows! 

Speaking of cows, we had quite the experience with them. I, was butted by one and so was someone else but then we had one poor member be actually thrown to the ground from an unfriendly, injured cow. But she's okay and we were able to laugh about it! Although after seeing the cows so up close, I am a little bit intimidated by them! We had alot of fun with all the animals and then we ate our vegan lunch we had packed while petting Fearless who was a very friendly dog that was just roaming around. I managed to get a picture with him and one of the members. He was such a magestic dog! After eating our lunch, we helped the man running the farm with some walnuts that needed to be disposed of. By then it was close to three and we decided to head back to Bowling Green. But we were really thankful to be able to volunteer (and even hear about a possible internship!) and help all the animals. It was wuite the experience and we hope to be able to do it again soon! :)

Experimental Granola Bars

These granola bars were an experiment by one of our members. The beauty of granola bars is that there is no perfect recipe and it is open to creative modification... so go wild and have fun, using this as a simple guide.

Ingredients
1.5 cup oats
0.5 cup roasted pepitas
0.5 cup raisins
1 large overripe banana
2 tbs syrup
2 tbs oil
1 tsp salt
0.5 tbs vanilla
1 tbs cocoa powder
2 tbs cinnamon

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Toss oats in oil and salt and toast the mixture in the oven on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes.
2. Mash the banana in a bowl with a fork until nearly liquified. Add to the mixture syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, raisins, and pepitas.
3. Add the finished oats to the bowl, mix, and pour into a small brownie pan, pressing the mixture down to pack it tightly.
4. Turn the oven down to 300 F and bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and then cut into bars. Sprinkle extra cinnamon etc. on top if desired. Store in a container in the fridge. Enjoy!

Meeting Notes for Sept. 24

At our meeting last night, we discussed upcoming events of interest being put on by BGSU and by SAVE. We also decided on dates for Veg Club events that are happening in October. We will be eating together at the Happy Badger on October 3rd, hosting a vegan bake sale on the 18th, and volunteering at SASHA Farm on the 20th. To help take pictures at these events and more, we unanimously elected Ciara as our new historian! It was a pretty packed meeting, so check out the slideshow for the details.

Campus Fest, Baby Otters, Chili Cook-Off

On September 13th, (despite a few threats of rain), we had our first event of the year: Campus Fest! Over 300 organizations set up tables outside the Union for BGSU students and community members to check out. It was refreshing, exciting and almost overwhelming to see so many people come together to get involved in a spirited, lively environment. The positivity, interest and curiosity of those who stopped to inquire about Veg Club was really encouraging. Lots of interesting conversation! We ran out of several piles of literature and all of the Oreos we were serving, and we filled three sign-up sheets with new e-mail subscribers! What an awesome start to the semester! Hopefully, we will see some new faces around and continue to grow as a group... Let's make an amazing year together!

On September 18th, we had our first official meeting of the year, complete with veg music, banana chips and cheeseless veggie pizza! Everyone introduced themselves and we talked about our favorite animals and our shared veg experiences (e.g. the protein question *gag*). It was pretty much unanimously decided that baby otters are the cutest. We also tossed around a few ideas for this year and shared what we would like to get out of being part of Veg Club. Everyone is really looking forward to finding support from fellow veggie friends this year!

On September 21st, a few friends from Veg Club and SAVE took a trip last night to SASHA Farm Sanctuary and Safe Haven for Animals in Michigan for a Fall Festival and Vegan Chili Cook-Off. Before grabbing baked potatoes and sampling some delicious vegan chilis which people were voting on, we strolled around the farm and said hello to our animal friends: goats, sheep, pigs, cows, chickens, ducks, emus, horses, donkeys, turkeys, dogs and cats. It is truly heart-warming and moving to see how free and happy they are there, and it was exciting and comforting to be surrounded by so many people who support SASHA and love animals. In the evening, everyone gathered around a giant (and extremely hot) bonfire to enjoy the lovely autumn-night weather and roast vegan marshmallows. Yum!

Summary of Notes/Events Spring 2013

Things we did Spring 2013:

• Get Involved Fair
• Pay Per View (pay people to watch an AR video) with Mercy for Animals
• Bake Sale to fundraise once a month
• Screen documentary "Forks Over Knives"
• Eat-Togethers once a month (Happy Badger, Aladdin's, potlucks)
• Ann Arbor Trip
• SASHA Farm Sanctuary Volunteer Trip
• Eco Fair
• Surveyed Campus for idea of vegan food co-op
• Worked with Dining Services to plan vegan station Shoots at the Oaks
• Made amendment to our constitution to include all animal products as our focus (not just meat)

Berry Cobbler

Mallory's delicious berry cobbler recipe comes from chooseveg.com, although it seems the authors of that post took it from a book called Healthy Eating for Life for Cancer by Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D. As we get further into summer, Veg Club suggests looking for fresh berries at the farmers market to use instead of frozen ones.

Ingredients
5-6 c frozen berries of your choice
1 and 1/4 c all purpose flour
1/2 c and 2 tbs sugar
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 c vegan milk of choice

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Spread berries in a 9 x 9 in baking dish. Mix in 1/4 c flour and 1/2 c sugar, then put the pan in the oven for about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, mix the remaining flour and sugar, as well as the baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the milk and combine into a smooth batter.
4. Take out the berry mixture and pour the topping over them. Spread evenly. Then bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

Pad Thai

This is another Robin Robertson recipe from 1000 Vegan Recipes. Again, we recommend buying this cookbook! There's all kind of great stuff in there!

Ingredients
12 oz dried rice noodles
1/3 c soy sauce
2 tbs lemon juice
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs tamarind paste (Miriam used tamarind and date chutney instead)
2 tbs tomato paste
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
3 tbs oil
1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and pressed, cut into 1/4 in thick triangles
4 green onions
1 c bean sprouts
1 c mushrooms (shiitake recommended, Miriam used white mushrooms)
1/4 c chopped cilantro
1/3 c chopped dry roasted, unsalted peanuts

Instructions
1. Follow the instructions on the rice noodle package for preparation. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, lemon juice, tamarind paste, tomato paste, red pepper, and 3 tbs water. Set aside.
3. Heat a skillet or wok and lightly cover with oil. Add the tofu and stir fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to platter and set aside. (For tofu frying help, see Isa Chandra's advice on the subject)
4. In the same skillet or wok, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Stir fry the green onions and garlic for thirty seconds, then add the tofu and mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes. Add the noodles and toss to combine until heated through.
5. Stir in the sauce and cook, tossing to coat. If you food's sticking to the skillet/wok, splash in some water too. Serve with the peanuts and cilantro as garnish.

Roasted Asparagus with Herbs de Provence

Veg Club loves asparagus, as evidenced by our quick demolition of Mallory's asparagus dish. This one comes from allrecipes.com. It's simple yet delicious and definitely worth trying at home.

Ingredients
1 bunch of asparagus, fibrous ends trimmed off
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs herbs de provence
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Put the asparagus in a large bowl and coat with oil, then toss with the herbs, salt, and pepper.
3. Roast in oven until tender, about 12 minutes

Deviled Potatoes

This recipe was inspired by the Post Punk Kitchen. What follows is a cross between Miriam's version and Isa Chandra's (that is, what would have been served if Miriam had followed directions better).

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs yukon gold potatoes
1 tbs oil
1 15.5 oz can great northern beans
1/2 c vegetable broth, plus more if needed to blend
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp kala manak black salt (or 3/4 tsp normal salt)
1/8 tsp asafoetida (optional)
2 tsp lemon juice
black pepper to taste
paprika

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Slice potatoes across the waist and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Rub potatoes to coat, and place cut-side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

3. Drain and rinse your great northern beans.  Add them to a blender with vegetable broth and blend until smooth.
4. Once potatoes have been removed from the oven and cool enough to handle but still fairly warm, scrape out the centers. Mash the centers until smooth. Then add the bean mixture and the rest of the ingredients and continue to mash. Put in the refrigerator for about a 1/2 hour to thicken.
5. Put the mixture in a pastry bag if you have one, or in a large ziploc and cut about 1/4 in off one corner. Use this to fill the potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika.

3 Bean and Artichoke Salad

Scott's contribution to the potluck on Sunday was this delicious, well-praised, salad. We suspect it's good healthy food for good measure. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients
1 15.5 oz can great northern beans
1 15.5 oz can chickpeas
1 15.5 oz can black eyed peas
1 13.75 oz can marinated artichoke hearts
4 green onions
2 large tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs balsamic vinegar
1/4 c fresh parsley
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp black pepper

Instructions
1. Drain and rinse the beans and peas. Drain artichokes without rinsing.
2. Chop the artichokes, green onions, and parsley. Dice the tomatoes. Mince the garlic.
3. Mix the beans and peas, artichokes, green onions, tomatoes, and garlic in a bowl.
4. Toss the contents of the bowl with olive oil and the rest of the ingredients.
5. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.

It's The Final Potluck

Yesterday, Veg Club had our last event of the year. We gathered at The Common Good for a delicious vegan feast of bean salad, deviled potatoes, pad thai, asparagus, berry cobbler, and oreo cupcakes (recipes forthcoming). For me, this wasn't just the last Veg Club event of the school year, it was my last Veg Club event as a BGSU student.

My name is Miriam, and Veg Club was the first student organization I joined as a freshman. I went to Campus Fest that year specifically hoping to find such a group, as I still wasn't sure where I fit at BG and I thought a good place to start building community would be among vegetarians. I was right. Veg Club is the one place that I've known I belonged. At Veg Club, I could always find like-minded people. For all that the membership has changed many times in these last four years, Veg Club has been like a family to me at BGSU.

It is through Veg Club that I was introduced to the Community Gardens and The Common Good, where I have participated and volunteered throughout my BG career. At Veg Club I've met a slew of wonderful people, including three livingmates past and present and my partner of over two years. Veg Club gave me the opportunity to realize my leadership capacities when I ran for president my freshman year with no notion that I would actually win. I've test driven a few recipes on Veg Club and I've discovered a number of good ones through its members. I've seen challenges, when membership has been low or members disagreed about plans or rules. I seen through very successful events and I've seen them fall through. I'm very proud of Veg Club, and I'm very happy to have been involved for so long.

At the potluck yesterday, we went around in a circle and talked about our favorite memories from the year. We remembered trips to animal sanctuaries and to Toledo as well as other potlucks. We remembered playing hangman and vegan board games at meetings. And we remembered check-ins: the beginning part of meetings during which we go around and talk about anything veg-related we want. Looking back now, I also fondly remember arguing heatedly over whether otters or red pandas are cuter before one of our documentary showings (otters surely!) and our Ann Arbor trip, with our discovery of Jazzy Veggie and some serious shopping.  These are all important because they're how we get to know each other. These are how Veg Club comes to feel like a community, a family. I wish Veg Club all the best for next year. Stay idealistic. Stick together.

Spring Rolls

Yesterday Veg Club had a table at the BGSU Eco-Fair.  We made a poster, pamphleted, argued with some folks, supported EAG's efforts to convert BGSU to all renewable energy, and passed out spring rolls. Here's the recipe for spring rolls: (It is an original by Miriam)

Ingredients
8 oz  extra firm tofu

1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tbs hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 c shredded cabbage
4 oz shitake mushrooms
1 green onion
1 large carrot
2 tsp oil
14 spring roll wrappers


Instruction
1. Drain tofu and and press water out: I wrap the tofu in towels and set a large book or two on it for an hour.
2. Combine soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, and garlic in a medium sized bowl. Add about a 1/3 cup water. Stir will. Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch strip and marinate in the mixture for about 30 minutes.
3. Chop all the vegetables. Heat the oil on medium heat, then add the vegetables and begin stir frying. After a few minutes, add the tofu with the marinade and fry until the vegetable are done to your liking: I prefer to keep some crunch.
4. Take the vegetables off the heat and drain off the liquid. Let cool.
5. Fill a shallow bowl with warm water (I used a pie pan). Dip one spring roll wrapper in the water for a couple of seconds. Then place it on a flat work surface. Place a couple of spoonfuls of filling at the bottom of the circle. Roll it up some, not more than halfway up the circle, and fold in the side of the circle. Then roll the spring roll the rest of the way up. Repeat for all 14 spring rolls.
6. Put the spring rolls in the refrigerator for a few hours. The wrappers will dry out and harden again so you have some crunch.

Minutes for Apr 9

Veg Club Minutes from April 9, 2013

1.)    Eco Fair: we will be having a booth at the Eco Fair on April 17 from 11:00-3:00 PM in the Student Union

-          We will be creating our poster for the event at this week’s meeting at 9:00 PM in Olscamp 206. Come by if you want to help with the poster or the Eco Fair itself!

2.)    Eat Together: we will be having a potluck dinner April 20^th at 6:00 PM at The Common Good (113 Crim St.). All are welcome.

"Cheesy" Spinach Biscuits

At Veg Club last week, Miriam brought in these biscuits stuffed with tahini-nutritional yeast "cheese".  The dough was taken from The Bread Machine Cookbook III by Donna Rathmell German and the filling was an original recipe by Miriam. Note that the ingredient quantities for the filling are approximate--Miriam suggests tasting it as you go until you get something you like.

Ingredients
for the dough:
4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 c cooked spinach
1 c warm water
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/3 tbs lemon juice
1 1/3 tbs olive oil

For the filling:
1/3 c tahini
1/3 c vegetable broth
2 tbs oil (vegetable oil, olive oil, vegan margarine, whatever you like)
3 tbs Nutritional Yeast Flakes
2 tsp dry basil

Instructions
1. Process your cooked spinach in a food processor or a blender. You can use some of the warm water to help if you're blending it. Add the lemon juice and olive oil as well.
2. Combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Mix it up and let it sit. Make sure the yeast starts bubbling.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Then add the blended/processed ingredients and the water/yeast mixture. Mix together and kneed for a few minutes.
4. Cover the dough with a moist cloth and set aside somewhere warm for 1 hour.
5. While you're dough is rising, you can begin working on the filling. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
6. Add the tahini and stir until it melts.
7. Slowly add vegetable broth while stirring. The mixture should be a liquid, but still quite thick.
8. Add the oil and mix briskly. The mixture should get crumbly as it combines. Add a little more oil than will combine.
9. Stir in the nutritional yeast and basil.  Keep adding nutritional yeast until you're happy with the taste/texture.
10. Take off the heat and let cool.
11.  When the filling is cool enough to touch and your dough has risen, preset the oven to 450 degree F and oil a baking sheet.
12. Break off dough into fist sized pieces. One at a time, use your thumbs to make a large hole in the center of each ball and add some filling. Then pinch the hole closed and place the ball on the baking sheet, hole-side down.
13. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Notes for March 19

1.) Upcoming Bake Sale: we will be holding an internationally themed bake sale next Monday and Tuesday (March 25 and 26) from 11:00-3:00 PM in the Student Union.

-we plan to offer sesame fudge, mochi, baklava and banana-chocolate empanadas

-there will be a bake night to prepare for the event at Miriam and Mallory's house on the evening of March 24.

 

2.) Upcoming Sasha Farms trip: we will be joining Save in a trip to volunteer at Sasha Farms this Saturday (March 23).

-we will meet at the Student Union Starbucks at 7:50 AM and departing at 8:00 AM

-we expect to leave from Sasha around 2:00 or 3:00 PM, which should place us back in BG between 3:30 and 4:30

 

3.) Miriam attended last week's Dining Advisory Board in Holly's stead.

 

4.) Cooking class: relevant BGSU chefs were receptive to our suggestion of their hosting a cooking class, though they were curious as to whether we wanted merely a demonstration or a class. We expressed our preference for a cooking class.

 

5.) Happy Badger last Saturday: Veg Club went out for lunch to the Happy Badger this Saturday. Everyone who attended reports having enjoyed the experience and (especially) the food.

Notes for Feb 12

Veg Club Notes from February 12, 2013

1. Aladdin's Eatery: we will be departing from the campus Starbucks at 5:30 PM on Sunday, February 17 to go to Aladdin's Eatery in Toledo for a group dinner.*
2. Bake Sale: there will be a bake sale February 19^th and 20^th from 11:00-3:00 PM in the Student Union.
   -bake night will be Monday, February 18^th at 8:00 PM
3. Forks Over Knives: we will be showing the documentary Forks Over Knives, which discusses the health benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet, on February 26 at 7:30 PM in Olscamp 223. All are welcome to attend.
4. Survey: we decided on the questions for our campus survey into BGSU community diets and interest in a vegetarian/vegan co-op restaurant on campus.
5. Cooking lessons: Miriam proposed that we partner with the Indian Student Association to offer cooking lessons on Indian food (much of which is vegetarian or vegan). Miriam will be contacting the association on our behalf. More details to come later. 
   
   
   *This event has already happened.

Notes for February 5

1. Movie:
   - we decided we would like to show a movie this month.
   - we decided to show Forks over Knives, which focuses on the health benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet
   - we are tentatively planning to do the showing in one of the large classrooms in Olscamp, out of concern that the theater may be booked (and because these rooms may be cheaper).
   - the movie will be shown in the fourth week of this month, tentatively February 26 at 7:30 PM. The movie will replace our usual evening meeting.
   2.) Bake Sale:
   - we are planning to have a bake sale later in this month (tentatively the 19^th and 20^th)
   - the bake sale is also to be used as an advertising event for the movie and the club. Pamphlets for the movie will be passed out and we are likely going to create a new trifold.

3. Eat Together
   - we are planning to go out for dinner Sunday, 17^th of February to Aladdin's Eatery in Toledo.

4. Old Flyers
   -If you see old Veg Club flyers (any flyers you do see are old), please take them down because the information about our meeting place is wrong. 

5. Survey
   - we will be using the campus updates and a survey website (e.g. Surveymonkey) to deliver a survey about BGSU community diets and attitudes toward the creation of a vegetarian/vegan co-op restaurant/store on campus.

Kalamata Crepes

The beginning of this recipe is from Robin Robertson's 1000 Vegan Recipes, but with an addition of a kalamata spread of Miriam's invention.

Ingredients:
For crepes:
1 c water
1 c chickpea flour/besan (seriously, if you can get besan at an Indian grocery you will save -so- much money)
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried rosemary

For the spread:
1/2 c kalamata olives, pitted
4-5 large cloves garlic
2 tsp roasted almonds
1 tbs olive oil

Instructions:
1) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the water and the chickpea flour until the mixture is very smooth. Add the oil, salt, and rosemary and mix until smooth and well blended. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. (Cover if leaving out for longer than an hour)
2) Preheat the oven to 425F. Heat a large pizza pan in the oven until hot, then carefully remove in and pour the batter into the pan. Bake until the top is firm and the edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Be sure that the pan lies very flat in the oven, or the mixture will be too think and undercooked on one side and too thin and overcooked on the other.
3) Cut off the bottom of the garlic cloves and wrap in foil. Cook garlic foil ball in the oven at 425F for about 15 minutes.
4) After the garlic is removed and cooled, place the olives and almonds in a blender. Squeeze the garlic out of its skin and into the blender as well.  Finally add the oil and blend to your liking.
5) Cut chickpea crepe into strips and spread some kalamata mixture on the bottom and carefully roll each piece up.  Or, just spread the mixture on your crepe and eat!

Vegan Balls

If you all enjoyed Stef's chocolate peanut butter balls from last week, you can make them yourself! What follows should be treated as rough estimates that you can adjust per your preferences for taste and texture, not primordial laws to be followed dogmatically.

Half cup of vegan choc chips (melted)

2 cups of rice crispie cereal

2 Tablespoons of Corn Syrup

1 to 2 teaspoons of Cocoa

Half a jar of peanut butter

1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract

 

Melt chocolate in the microwave for about a minute and 30 seconds. Ad the peanut butter and cereal to the chocolate and mix them together.  Follow with cocoa, corn syrup, vanilla, and more mixing.

Check the texture of your mixture. If it's not sticky enough to shape, add more peanut butter.  If it is, scoop and shape golf ball sized balls.

Refrigerate for about 25 (or more) minutes and serve!

 

Notes for January 29

Veg Club Minutes from January 29, 2013

Business

1.) Vegetarian/Vegan Co-Op Research Results

• As part one of the project of trying to start a vegetarian/vegan co-op at Bowling Green each member looked into one of several existing programs at other schools or programs (Hiram College, University of Washington, Oberlin and the Co-Fed organization) and reported their findings to the club this week
• After some discussion of the various models we achieved agreement on wanting to develop a student run/cooperatively owned (non-profit?) business that would be open to all members of the Bowling Green community.
• It was also decided that, given the scale of the project, we would do well to try to involve other organizations that might have the interest in and resources to help with this project (e.g. Net Impact).

2. Monthly Events
    

• It was decided that we would like to have one special event each month, in addition to our monthly eat together
• It was also proposed that we endeavor to have one bake-sale per month, as our bake-sales have been fairly successful. We are, however, hoping to increase our variety of offerings at future bake-sales. For example, we are planning to have a pancake bake-sale.
• Special Events discussed included:
  - Participating in the Eco Fair in April (we had also wanted to bring a speaker to campus and it was proposed that we have the speaker come as part of our Eco Fair event)
  -Cooking classes: though no month was proposed, we are considering taking cooking classes
  -Documentary showing: we are probably going to screen Forks Over Knives
  -Sasha (Sanctuary and Safe Haven for Animals) Farm: we are planning to collaborate with Save in a trip this semester to Sasha Farm in order to do volunteer work for them.

Ann Arbor Adventure

This morning/afternoon, Veg Club took a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan to enjoy a veg-friendly atmosphere and each other's company.  It's about an hour and a half drive from Bowling Green to Ann Arbor, and we had just enough seats to fill one vehicle, plus some extra driving time for directional confusion. By the time we arrived in Ann Arbor, we were fair hungry and closed in on our planned destination for lunch: Jazzy Veggie.

Jazzy Veggie is an entirely vegan cafe in downtown Ann Arbor, and we managed to arrived just as they were opening for the day.  Everyone had a phenomenal eating experience, with menu choices ranging from the sweet potato quinoa burger to the muffaletta to the ol' western sub to the jus' veggies sandwich. There was much appraisal of the coleslaw and plantain chips as well, and the servers were quite friendly and helpful.

The next stop on our expedition was The People's Food Co-op. Veg Club has a history of visiting the co-op when we visit Ann Arbor as members appreciate the values behind a cooperative business model and approve of the co-op's efforts to sell local food.  Some pleasing finds included vegan chocolate, locally produced sugar and flour, and bulk nutritional yeast flakes.

Finally, we journeyed to Whole Foods.  Veg Club appreciates the variety of products available to us here that are sometimes hard to find in the smaller town of Bowling Green.  At least one member enthusiastically carried out their shopping for the week, exalting in a franchise dedicated to supplying specifically nutritious, ethically produced food.  All in all, we considered the whole journey quite successful, full of delightful conversation and delicious food.

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Oat Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 c vegan margarine
2 c sugar (white or brown)
1/2 c nondairy milk (we use almond)
4 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 c quick cooking oats

Instructions:

Line cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.

In a large pot, bring margarine, sugar, and cocoa to a boil stirring constantly. Let boil for 1-2 minutes, until mixture is completely melted. Do not boil over.

Take mixture off heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until completely melted. Then stir in the oats.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet and allow it to cool. When cool, turn cookies over to dry the bottoms.

Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Peppermint Fudge Balls

The peppermint fudge balls are an original recipe from Miriam.  Here's roughly how they were made:

Ingredients:

1 c + 1tbs of coconut oil
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 tbs flax seed
2 tbs water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 c + 2 tbs cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
~1/4 c broken peppermint candy

Instructions

Cream the oil, sugars, flax seed, water, and vanilla together.  Add the rest of the ingredients EXCEPT for the peppermint a little bit at a time, using the hand mixer to blend.  (You could mix the dry ingredients together first, but I don't see any reason to bother) Once everything is well mixed, roll the chocolate mixture into balls and roll them in the peppermint candy.  Eat them!!

Vegan Puppy Chow

The puppy chow recipe from our bake sale was borrowed from PETA's website.  Here it is:

1 c semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
1/2 c creamy peanut butter
1/4 c vegan margarine
9 c rice cereal squares
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and vegan margarine in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute, or until melted. Add vanilla.

Place the cereal squares in a large container and pour in the chocolate mixture. Stir gently until all the squares are coated.

Add the powdered sugar to the container and seal with a lid. Shake gently until the sugar has coated all the squares.

Place in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until the chocolate hardens. Once solidified, store in the refrigerator. (We totally ignored this entire step).

Doom Fudge Brownies

This recipe is a staple of veg club bake sales, recommended by a friend of a current member in 2009.  The recipe giver warned against altering her recipes (taking no responsibility for repercussions) but this recipe has since been tried substituting cocoa powder with carob powder (when one of our members was unable to eat chocolate) and white flour with whole wheat pastry flour.  At the most recent bake sale, the recipe was followed exactly. Without further ado, the original text:

Ingredients:

●      2 cups all-purpose white flour

●      2 cups sugar

●      1 cup cocoa

●      1 teaspoon baking powder

●      1 1/4 teaspoons salt

●      1 cup water

●      1 1/4 cups oil, preferably melted coconut or palm oil, but vegetable oil is fine

●      1 tablespoon vanilla

●      1 egg worth or your favorite egg replacer (I like ground flax seeds and water)

Directions:

●      Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 cake pan.

●      Mix all the dry stuff.

●      Add all the wet stuff.  Mix well.

●      Eat a spoonful of raw batter because you can.

●      Pour batter into pan.  Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out a little gooey.  DO NOT OVERBAKE. If the toothpick comes out clean, it's too late.

Meeting Notes for Jan 22

Events

1. An-Arbor Trip This Sunday:
   - We will be leaving at 10:00 AM from the Student Union Starbucks for An-Arbor, Michigan, to partake of the city's fine vegetarian and vegan cousin and shopping opportunities (Notably, we are thinking of going to either or both the People's Food Co-Op and Whole Foods for groceries, followed by lunch at The Jazzy Veggie).
   -We should be back in BG by 4:30 PM.

Business

1. Bake Sale:
   - We made ~ $38 at this week's bake sale, which we considered a successful event
   - Profits were tempered a little more because we had been in debt $9 because of a mistake about how much money was in our club account
2. Get Involved Fair
   -We had significantly fewer people interested at this week's Get Involved Fair, though this is probably largely a function of the fact that attendance was generally unusually low at the fair.
   - That said, we warmly welcome all to our meetings (Tuesdays at 9:00 PM in Olscamp 206).
3. Dining Advisory Board Meeting—many things were discussed at the last dining advisory board meeting; here are some of the highlights:
   - One of the focuses of the meeting was on The Sweet Shop. At the advisory board meeting, Holly noted that we would like to see more vegan sweets.
   - The university is considering new commuter meal plans.
4. Starting a Vegetarian/Vegan Food Co-Op on campus
   - Though it would obviously take a lot of work, Miriam's proposal of trying to start a vegetarian/vegan food co-op on campus was met with unanimous support.
   - As part of our initial planning, we are getting in contact with and researching schools that already have such food co-ops for inspiration and tips on how to get started.
5. Surveys
   - We would like to return the campus dining experience surveys at next week's meeting. If you are participating in the survey please remember to finish your visits before then.
6. Other ideas for the semester:
   - Though nothing concrete was decided, we briefly discussed what other events we might want to plan for this semester. Ideas included: another documentary screening, taking a cooking class together, Pay per view info videos/ other collaborative work with Mercy For Animals, pamphleting, and bringing in a guest speaker (likely a task to be approached in collaboration with other campus organizations). 

Notes for January 15

Here are the minutes from this week's Veg-Club meeting (Tuesday, January 15, 2013).

Upcoming Events:

1.) Bake Sale: we will be having a bake sale Friday 18th of January from 11:00-3:00 PM in the Student Union. Food will be prepared Thursday evening; comment ASAP if you're interested in joining us for the food prep or the sale itself.

2.) An-Arbor trip: we will be visiting An-Arbor, Michigan January 27 for lunch and to partake of the city's excellent veggie shopping options. Specific times to be sent later.

Other News:

1.) New treasurer: Kate has been elected as our new treasurer; congratulations and best wishes, Kate! 

We also discussed an email from students concerned about the treatment of fiddler crabs at Walmart and whether or not we could/should do anything about it.  Our homework for the next meeting is to do some research on fiddler crab well being and how these kinds of stores treat their animals. Come to our next meeting with insights, or comment here, or email us at bgsuvegclub@gmail.com!

Next week we will also discuss further plans for the semester. If there is something you would like to see us do, again, please come to the meeting or comment or email us!

Reminder:

Don't forget to fill out our surveys for Dining Services! Let us know if you'd like a copy!

Soft Pretzels

Miriam made soft pretzels for the meeting, using this recipe from the website, Cook Eat Delicious! Instead of white flour, she used chapati flour (Indian whole wheat flour). You could also make these with half white four and half wheat flour.  The recipe halves well too, if you don't want 12 pretzels.

Homemade Soft Mall Pretzels

Author: CookEatDelicious.com

Recipe type: Appetizer

Prep time:  1 hour 30 mins

Cook time:  9 mins

Total time:  1 hour 39 mins

Yields: 12 pretzels

 

This is a Vegan Recipe! Serve with mustard.

Ingredients

• 6 tsp yeast
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 1¼ cups warm water
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• Kosher Salt for topping

Instructions

1. In a small bowl combine yeast, 2 tsp white sugar, and warm water.
2. Let stand for 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine 3½ cups flour, ½ cup sugar, and 2 tsp salt.
4. Add in oil and yeast mixture.
5. Mix to form a dough ball and knead in ½ cup of flour.
6. Knead until dough is elastic and smooth, 8 minutes.
7. Lightly oil a large bowl and place dough ball inside and cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
9. Bring water to a light boil.
10. Dissolve baking soda in hot water and remove from heat.
11. Divide dough into 12 pieces.
12. Roll out each piece into a rope and twist into pretzel shape.
13. Dip each pretzel into baking soda water and place on a greased baking sheet.
14. Sprinkle with salt.
15. Bake for 9 minutes.
16. Cool on a wire rack.

Meeting Notes for January 8

January Events:

1. An-Arbor Trip: we are tentatively planning to visit An-Arbor, Michigan on January 27 for lunch and shopping. Let us know if you have ideas for activities!
2. Get Involved Fair: the Get Involved Fair is January 22 from 11:00-3:00 PM and we would like volunteers to staff our table there. We will plan for the fair at greater length next week.
3. Bake Sale: we are planning to have a bake sale January 18, details to be worked out later.

Dining Services Updates

1. Dining Services has asked us to fill out monthly surveys about our experiences with campus dining. Holly designed the requisite survey and each member was given a copy of the survey for this month. The survey requires dining at Kreischer, The Oaks and Carillon Place once per month. Email us (bgsuvegclub@gmail.com) if you weren't at the meeting and would like to complete the survey!

Constitutional Amendments

1. A constitutional amendment to our mission statement so as to modify it to acknowledge those who want to eliminate all animal products from their diets/lives (vegans) was passed with unanimous support. The previous language referred only to meat.